


It's In Our DNA

by HappyJuicyfruit



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Humor, Crime Scenes, Detective Derek Hale, Fluff, Forensics, Human Derek Hale, M/M, Mutual Pining, Scientist Stiles Stilinski, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 18:37:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15419133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyJuicyfruit/pseuds/HappyJuicyfruit
Summary: Derek is a cop, and Stiles is the forensic analyst that’s always working his cases.Stiles is madly in love but Derek is too busy to notice him.Or at least, that’s what Stiles thinks.





	It's In Our DNA

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Fandom Cares bid winner Annasakai, who wanted a 'pining soulmate detective AU'. I tried dear, I hope you like it haha.  
> I attempted to make this funny, so it should be less angsty then my other works. Knowing me, there is still some angst though. But with a happy ending! :) 
> 
> Hope you enjoy! 
> 
>  
> 
> Warnings: crime scenes (there is a dead body at the beginning - strangulation, discussion of blood and possible sexual assault), attempted bombing, joking/flirting at crime scenes (very Sherlockian, but some might find this insensitive).

Stiles approached the dead body with precise calculation. They were miles away from the nearest building, but the body that was lying on the ground was not dressed in outdoor wear.. or exercise gear. 

He tilted his head, eyes roving over the body more closely: female, dress pushed up to the waist - but tugged down again to partially cover her, heels, no makeup. 

 

“Someone brought her out here - Kira, take pictures of the surrounding area, I’m going to collect more evidence from our lady here.” 

 

Kira nodded, quickly walking off to take the pictures. She walked away humming, and Stiles spared a second to glance at her. The woman was too nice to work at crime scenes… she was lasting longer than he thought she would though. 

 

Stiles crouched down beside the victim, taking in her bruised throat and cloudy eyes. Whoever had done this had been angry, probably a break up. Or a money fude. Those usually brought out the worst in people. 

 

Stiles silently pulled on his gloves and began collecting evidence. The blood underneath her nails, different hairs on her dress, the different blood spatters in the dirt surrounding her. He couldn’t do it here, but he made a note to ask the morgue to test for sexual assault. He hoped he was wrong, this woman had clearly fought against her attacker, but if he was right… there was a chance they could at least find the guy. Especially compared with all the DNA she’d collected for them. The evidence underneath her nails alone was enough for Stiles to put the bastard away for - 

 

A man suddenly crouched down beside Stiles. Stiles glanced at him in annoyance but then dropped all of his evidence bags and let out a tiny squeak when he saw who it was. 

 

Detective Derek Hale. The lead detective in homicide in Beacon Hills, and the love of Stiles life. 

 

Well..almost.  _ Soon _ to be love. Hopefully. As soon as Stiles is able to say a full (and normal) sentence to him, Stiles was  _ sure _ that the two of them - 

 

“Find anything?” Derek asked, thankfully ignoring Stiles strange behavior and blatant staring. He hadn’t even looked over at Stiles this entire time, not even when Stiles dropped everything. 

 

What a gentleman. 

 

“Stilinski?” Derek asked, causing Stiles to jump and fumble with his evidence bags again. 

 

“Yeah- yes- yessirree, I got a lot. This girl was a fighter, and I’m sure we’ll find some DNA that matches our suspect. Hopefully he’ll be in the database, and you won’t have to hunt him down. Not that you won’t have to hunt him down anyway, but, like, it will be easier. To hunt. With a name. And a face. Because the database does names.. and faces.” Stiles cut himself off then, blushing madly as he placed all of the evidence bags into his case.  Thankfully Derek didn’t comment on any of it, only nodded. 

 

“Do you think you could have that done by tomorrow?” 

 

“For you? Anything,” Stiles said, probably too honestly. He quickly backtracked. “I mean, for any detective, I would do anything. To catch the bad guys - out - out there in the world. I do what I can. To help. Yep.” 

 

Derek nodded again, eyes now on Stiles. Stiles tried to fight down his blush. 

 

“So I’ll swing by the lab tomorrow to pick up the results?” 

 

“Yeah, great idea! I mean,” Stiles cleared his throat, “sure, or, I could also call you.”

 

Derek cocked his head at him, if Stiles didn’t know better, he could have sworn the man was almost smiling. “I’ll swing by.” 

 

“Okay, that works too. I-” 

 

“Hey Stiles, I’m done with the pictures.” Kira said, popping up beside him. Stiles was thankful for her timing, he had almost started rambling again. 

 

“Awesome. I’m done here too, so we should head back to the lab.” Stiles grabbed his bag, swinging it over his shoulder as he tried to stand. Obviously, this attempt at a smooth move went horribly, as he ended up tipping sideways and directly into Derek instead of standing up on his own two feet like a normal person. 

 

Derek calmly straightened Stiles, strong arms steadying him before he let go. Stiles stared at the hands on his arms, sure that his face was now the same shade as Flanders Field in poppy season. 

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Stiles,” Derek said, letting him go. Stiles did not whine at the loss of contact, but it was a close call. 

 

“See you tomorrow, Derek,” Stiles said, smiling up at the man. Derek then turned his attention back to the body, and Stiles realized that was his cue that he actually had to leave. 

 

He quickly followed after Kira, ducking under the crime scene tape and definitely not looking back to see if Derek was watching him leave. Okay, he definitely did not look back more than once…. Okay, twice. 

 

Okay! Three times, but that last time barely counts, the trees were already in the way. 

 

“Did you seriously tell Derek you would do anything for him?” Kira asked beside him, laughing lightly. 

 

Stiles glared at her, “I told him I would do anything for detectives. Which is true, it’s my job.” 

 

Kira looked at him quizzically, “I’m not sure that’s actually your job-” 

 

“Okay, whatever. How were the pictures?” 

 

“Good! I got a lot, I think we even have a few clear footprints.” Kira said, all bright and smiley again. 

 

Stiles rolled his eyes, “this guy was an ametuer.” 

 

“Yeah we’ll catch him.” Kira nodded, “but seriously, Stiles, do you think Derek’s your soul match?” 

 

Stiles froze, eyes frantically moving around the trees. Thankfully, Derek was nowhere near them, and the people who were obviously didn’t care. After his brief moment of panic he started walking again, ignoring Kira’s smirking face. 

 

“So, you do think so?” Kira pressed. 

 

Stiles resolutely kept his face forward.“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

 

“I overheard your conversation with Scott on the phone yesterday. I know you hope he is.” 

 

Stiles huffed, of course Scott forgot to mention the fact that his girlfriend was sitting right there while Stiles told him all his sorrows. He never should have introduced Kira and Scott to each other.

 

They were sunshiny menaces, the both of them. 

 

He stomped over to his car, not bothering to answer her question. He knew it was a fantasy. He knew he was infatuated with Derek, while Derek barely paid attention to him. He knew that if they really were soul matches, Derek would try to talk to him more. It would be a two way street, not a one way lane of sadness. 

 

But for now, it was fun to dream.

 

—

 

Stiles slapped the folder on the table, pulling over the labs phone to call Derek. He knew the detective said he would stop by, but Stiles was always faster than the rest of his peers in forensics. Derek probably wouldn’t swing by for another hour or so. 

 

He was proven wrong when Derek walked up to his desk as Stiles dialed his number. 

 

“Derek!” Stiles squeaked (again, god he had to stop squeaking in front of this man), dropping the phone back into its cradle. “You’re here earlier than I thought you would be.” 

 

Derek shrugged, “you’re always fast.” Stiles basked in the praise, though it didn’t last long. “What did you find?” 

 

Stiles smiled, twirling the folder so it was facing Derek, “I was wrong!” 

 

Derek frowned, opening the folder, “what?” 

 

“I thought she was assaulted, but she wasn’t. I knew she was a fighter,” Stiles grinned. “She got the bastards DNA under her claws, and I got a match,” Stiles leaned forward, flipping a page and pointing to a mugshot, “that’s your man. In our database for some petty theft a few years back. This is proven by not only the fragments under her nails, but the hair left on her clothes and blood left in the soil. She hurt him - he’s probably covered in scratches. Which is great, because now we can catch him before he does this to anyone else.”

 

“Great, thanks,” Derek said, already lifting the folder from the counter. 

 

“Oh, um,” Stiles thought quickly, not wanting Derek to leave already, “hey, isn’t it funny how we’re working together all the time now? I usually only work with the same detective like twice a month or something, I see you way more often than that..” Stiles chuckled weakly, “how.. How funny is that?” 

 

Derek raised an eyebrow, “I don’t think it’s funny at all.” Stiles heart sank. Right, that was a stupid choice of topic, of course it wasn’t funny. Stiles was probably a pain in the ass. Way to go Stiles, for bringing that up.

 

But Derek wasn’t finished. “I’ve been requesting you. It would be annoying if you were working with other people when I need you on my team.” 

 

Stiles mouth fell open. He quickly shut it, cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say. Before he could think of a response though, Derek walked out the door and out of his lab. 

 

Stiles started jumping as soon as the door shut behind him.

 

Derek was  _ requesting _ him! Derek Hale wanted to spend time with  _ him _ ! Stiles! 

 

Stiles stopped bouncing when the door swung open again and another detective came in, searching for Kira. He had a huge smile on his face for the rest of the day though, and he didn’t even try to stop it. 

 

His heart was pounding from just the thought that Derek might want to spend more time with him too. 

 

\--

 

They caught the guy. Derek and his team had him by the end of the day. With the overwhelming amount of evidence Stiles and Kira had collected, the man was already pleading guilty. He would be going away for a long time. 

 

Stiles was just happy the poor woman’s family would be getting some justice. 

 

A week passed without another case from Derek. Stiles spent the time running samples from other detectives, and checking his phone for messages from the other man. It was a good thing there wasn’t any news from Derek, he was the head of homicide, after all. But still. He held out hope that Derek might text him for something non-case related. 

 

That didn’t happen, but he did get a call out to another crime scene. Just Stiles, no one else. Not even Kira. 

 

Stiles smiled the whole drive over. 

 

Derek was waiting for him at the entrance to the town library when Stiles pulled up. He fought the grin off his face, recognizing that he was about to walk onto a crime scene. As John Watson said, that was no place for giggling. 

 

Derek had his usual stoic face on when Stiles stepped out of the car. 

 

“There’s a bomb.” Derek said, walking towards him. 

 

Stiles steps faltered, “um, that’s not really my area-” 

 

Derek rolled his eyes, “the bomb has been taken care of, it’s not here anymore. I wanted to see if you could find anything where it was found, before we close down the scene.”

 

“Oh, yeah. Cool.” 

 

Stiles followed Derek inside until the man stopped and pointed. The bomb had apparently been left on a table in the middle of the library… not very subtle. 

 

Stiles pulled on a pair of gloves, glancing around the scene before he started snapping pictures. After he finished with the pictures he pulled out supplies to dust the table for prints. It was a public space, so this could be a loss cause, but he might as well try. Prints were always useful as backup evidence if he found anything else. 

 

He heard Derek step closer as Stiles bent over the table to work. 

 

There were multiple sets of prints on the table, but Stiles collected them all. He felt Derek’s eyes on him as he collected everything. He tried not to blush at the attention. 

 

Stiles moved to the bookcase surrounding the table area, collecting prints along the way. He stopped at the entrance to the basement before shrugging and opening the door. Maybe the bomber had come up through here, you never know. 

 

He was dusting the railing to collect more prints when he heard Derek lean on the doorframe beside him. Apparently the man liked to watch him work. 

 

“So, um,” Stiles started, eyes focused on his fingerprint tape, “is there a specific reason you’ve been requesting me for everything recently?” 

 

He saw Derek shrug in his peripheral vision. “You’re the best forensic specialist I’ve ever seen, why wouldn’t a request you?” 

 

Stiles jerked at the compliment, twisting to look at Derek in surprise. During his twist, however, he forgot he was standing on a staircase. His foot slipped right out from under him and his arms went flying up as he flailed to keep his balance. All of his evidence baggies scattered into the air as Stiles felt himself tip backwards, down a flight of stairs. 

 

He had the passing thought that this was going to hurt - both his body and his pride - before he felt strong hands grab onto him, pulling him forward again. 

 

Stiles landed against a strong chest. He curled his fingers into Derek’s shirt, looking up at the man with wide eyes. 

 

Derek’s arms are still around his back. Stiles wasn’t sure if he would be able to move again. 

 

“Are you always this clumsy?” Derek asked. His eyes were moving over Stiles face like he’d never seen him before. 

 

It took Stiles breath away - and he hadn’t had much breath to take away. 

 

“Yeah,” Stiles said, barely over a whisper. He wasn’t sure if Derek heard him, but neither man said anything else. They continued standing there, Derek holding Stiles in his arms, for a long time. 

 

They only let go when someone cleared their throat behind them. 

 

“Stilinski? Hale? You two alright?” Derek’s partner, Boyd, asked. 

 

Derek released Stiles, taking a few steps up the stairs again. “Yeah, we’re fine.” 

 

Boyd nodded, though he shot his partner a questioning glance, “you almost finished up, Stilinski?”

 

Stiles swallowed, bending down to pick up all the evidence bags he had dropped. “Yeah, yeah I’m finished.” Stiles straightened, sneaking past the two men to get back into the library. He placed the evidence into his bag, turning to find Derek standing beside the open basement door and staring at him. 

 

Stiles smiled at him hesitantly, “you can come by tomorrow to get my results?” 

 

Derek didn’t say anything, so Boyd answered for him, “he’ll be there.” 

 

“Okay. Bye.” Stiles smiled again, leaving the library. 

 

When he glanced back one last time, Derek was still standing there staring at him. 

 

Stiles smiled the whole drive back to the lab. 

 

\-- 

 

Derek stared after Stiles in a daze. He knew it was creepy to watch the man walk away (though Stiles didn’t seem to mind). He knew he and Boyd had to get back to the station. He knew he had to  _ move _ . 

 

But he couldn’t. His brain was too stuck on what he’d just seen. 

 

On the staircase, as Stiles had been in the process of falling, his shirt had ridden up his side. The pale skin above his hipbone had been exposed and Derek had seen.. 

 

Derek had seen the exact some mark that sat above his own hip bone, on the side of his stomach. A circle of dots with a large swirl in the center. 

 

Their soulmarks. 

 

Derek and Stiles had matching soulamarks. They were soulmates. 

 

He could not believe this. He could not believe that Stiles - funny, quirky, brilliant Stiles - was his soulmate. 

 

He didn’t know what to do with this new information. 

 

So he just stood here, staring at a now empty library. 

 

“Derek? You okay?” Boyd asked. Derek shook his head, he had to think about this later. He had to get back to work. 

 

“Yeah, let’s go.” 

 

\-- 

 

Derek couldn’t bring himself to go see Stiles. He knew the forensic specialist must have everything organized by now - he knew that any other time, he would have been down there an hour ago to check in with him. 

 

Today though.. he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t face the person that was probably his soulmate. Not yet. 

 

He ignored his phone when it started to ring. 

 

Boyd showed up half an hour later, a familiar folder in his hand and a questioning look in his eyes. He didn’t ask though, because Boyd would never ask if he didn’t feel like he had to. That’s why Derek liked him. 

 

“Stilinski found a few matches that might be our guy.” Boyd said, throwing the folder on Derek’s desk for him to look at. 

 

Derek picked up the folder, glancing through the pictures. 

 

“Ready to go talk to some suspects?” 

 

Derek nodded, anything to stop him from sitting around and thinking about Stiles. 

 

—

 

Derek and Boyd spent the day tracking down the four suspects in Stiles file. Three of them had alebies, and the last wasn’t home. They asked around the neighborhood, but no one had seen anything suspicious of the man. 

 

Derek and Boyd agreed to try again tomorrow. 

 

—

 

Derek lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling thinking about Stiles. The same thing he had done last night. 

 

He knew Stiles was attracted to him, his numerous blushes were a clear sign of that, but he didn’t know if Stiles would want to get to know him in a personal way… a romantic way. 

 

A ‘let’s spend the rest of our lives together’ way. 

 

Being soulmates didn’t automatically mean they would start dating and eventually get married. A lot of people had platonic soulmates. Or decided that it was nice to meet their match, but they weren’t the type to settle down. 

 

He wished he had some magic power that let him know how people were really feeling.. like the ability to smell other people’s emotions or something, that would be cool. 

 

As it was, he didn’t know how Stiles felt. He knew how he felt though. 

 

He thought Stiles was amazing. 

 

Since the first time he’d met the man, he thought he was amazing. Stiles had a natural ability to talk to everyone around him. He always knew what to say, unlike Derek, who often spent entire days not speaking to anyone. 

 

Stiles was brilliant, the best forensic specialist he knew. 

Stiles was funny, especially when he wasn’t trying to be. 

Stiles was beautiful, his pale skin looked like porcelain, and his curved nose was the cutest thing he’d ever seen… 

 

Suffice to say, Derek knew how he felt. He would be honored to spend the rest of his life with Stiles Stilinski. 

 

But.. what if Stiles didn’t feel the same? 

 

_ \--  _

 

The next day, Derek managed to concentrate on his paperwork until lunch. Then he headed down to the forensic department to talk to Stiles. He couldn’t hide out in his office all day, and he could barely concentrate on something for more than five minutes without thinking about Stiles. He’d waited long enough. 

 

It was time to face his future. 

 

His heart fluttered when Stiles broke into a smile at the sight of him - maybe it was more than attraction after all? Maybe he had a chance here. His heart filled with hope as he tried to smile back. 

 

“What can I help you with, Detective Hale?” Stiles asked, leaning against his counter. 

 

“I, uh, came down to talk to you, actually.” Derek said, leaning his hip on the counter as well. “How are you?” 

 

Best not to jump right in to the whole soulmates thing.. Derek didn’t want to scare him off. 

The shock on Stiles face was probably not a good sign though.. had Derek never asked how the other man was before? Jesus, he was bad at this. 

 

The shock on Stiles face quickly fell away and was replaced with a happy grin. He jumped right in, yammering on about how he was doing great, and he was having dinner with his dad this weekend, and his friend Scott was starting to date Kira and they were really happy... And Derek just leaned against the table with a smile and listened. He could listen to his boy talk all day. 

 

It was only when Stiles grew quiet for a moment that Derek realized something was wrong. There was a faint ticking echoing through the lab, and it filled Derek with unease. 

 

He turned back to Stiles, who looked slightly embarrassed, “hey, so Derek.. would you like to go-?”

 

“Do you hear that?” Derek cut him off, his head swiveling around to catch the sound. 

 

Stiles frowned, “hear what?”

 

Derek shook his head, walking past Stiles to follow the sound. 

 

Derek followed the ticking to a parcel - a simple brown package with the rest of the mail. There was no address written on it though, and Derek suddenly knew what the ticking was. Because this was the exact same package that had been left at the library yesterday. 

 

This parcel was a fucking bomb. 

 

“We need to leave, everyone needs to leave the lab!” Derek shouted, rushing back towards Stiles. “Right now! Everyone out, there’s a bomb!” 

 

He grabbed Stiles, covering him as he hurried to the exit. He pulled the fire alarm on the way, hoping that got everyone out of the building in time. He pushed through the doors, herding Stiles as far away from the building as possible. 

 

“Derek,” Stiles eventually said, stopping Derek’s retreat when they were on the other side of the street. “Derek it’s okay, helps on the way.” 

 

Derek paused, glancing down at the man in his arms. 

 

“What?” 

 

“I called the police, the bomb squad is coming.” 

 

Derek’s eyes widened. He hadn’t even realized Stiles was already on the phone while Derek was busy panicking.

 

His soulmate was a badass. 

 

“Yeah, so.. the sitch is under control. You can let go of me now.” Stiles said, yet he wasn’t trying to pull away. 

 

“I don’t want to.” Derek said, the words coming out before he could stop them. 

 

He was glad he said it though, he had to be like Stiles if he was going to do this. He had to jump in mouth first. 

 

“What?” 

 

“I don’t want to let go, I want to hold onto you forever.” 

 

Stiles looked at him in confusion, but he didn’t look scared or anything. Derek took a deep breath and a step back. He pulled up his shirt, twisting so that Stiles could have the best view of his mark. 

 

The same soulmark Stiles had on his side. 

 

Stiles gasped, flapping his hands in the air for a moment before bending town to trace Derek’s mark with his finger. Then he lifted his own shirt to compare their marks. 

 

They were exactly the same

They are soulmates. 

 

The happy laugh that Stiles let out eased any unease Derek was still feeling. 

 

As did the kiss Stiles pressed to his lips. 

 

—

 

Derek had worn his best shirt to their first date. He had made reservations at the best Italian restaurant he knew, and he’d brought Stiles the most expensive box of chocolates he could find.

 

His shirt ended up on Stiles bedroom floor, they never made it to the restaurant, and they were currently eating the box of chocolates snuggled up in Stiles bed. 

 

As first dates went, this was probably the best one he’d ever had… it was also the last one he ever hoped to have. 

 

“Hey… ignore me if this is too forward or whatever, but is it too early to ask you to move in? I mean, we’ve been lying here for six hours now, but I already know I don’t ever want you to leave.” Stiles said, leaning away from Derek only far enough to see his face. 

 

Derek smiled, shaking his head. “It’s never to early for soulmates.” He whispered, before pulling Stiles back in for a kiss. 

 

—

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it :) Leave a kudos or a comment to let me know what you think!
> 
> [Come say hi on tumblr!](http://happyjuicyfruit.tumblr.com/)


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